Meet Milena Traikovich, a seasoned expert in social media marketing and lead generation. With a wealth of experience in performance optimization and analytics, Milena has a unique ability to drive effective campaigns and nurture high-quality leads for businesses. Today, she shares her insights on leveraging humor, cultural relevance, customer stories, education, and social movements to create impactful social media strategies for vegan and plant-based food brands.
How did you identify humor as a key component of your social media strategy?
Humor naturally resonates with people because it breaks down barriers and makes interactions feel more personal and authentic. Early on, we observed that our audience responded positively to lighthearted and funny content. We started experimenting with memes and witty posts, which significantly increased engagement. This led us to incorporate humor as a core part of our social media strategy.
What kinds of humorous content have proven most effective for your audience?
Our audience particularly enjoys relatable situations and everyday humor that ties back to the plant-based lifestyle. Memes, puns, and playful takes on common scenarios in the vegan community are particularly popular. For example, posts that humorously depict the classic struggles of finding good vegan options or the excitement over a new plant-based product tend to perform well.
Can you share an example of a humorous post that generated significant engagement?
One of our most successful posts was a meme warning about a “wet floor” due to the juiciness of our new plant-based burger. It was clever and funny, and it encouraged a lot of interaction and sharing. People loved it because it was not only humorous but also highlighted a desirable quality about our product in a playful way.
How do you ensure that your humorous content aligns with your brand’s values?
It’s crucial to have a deep understanding of your brand’s voice and values. Our humor is always respectful and inclusive, never at the expense of others. We aim to keep it relevant to our mission of promoting a plant-based lifestyle, ensuring that our content underscores our commitment to health, sustainability, and community.
What advice would you give to brands who are looking to incorporate humor into their social media presence?
Start by understanding your audience and what they find funny and relatable. Don’t force it—humor should feel natural and align with your brand’s identity. Test different types of content to see what works best and always maintain a respectful tone. Humor can be a powerful tool for engagement, but it must be used thoughtfully and authentically.
How do you stay attuned to current events and trends to create timely campaigns?
We keep a close eye on news, cultural events, and trending topics through social listening tools and by actively following key influencers and relevant industry news. Having a dedicated team to monitor and interpret these trends ensures that we can respond quickly and appropriately.
Can you describe the process behind a successful real-time marketing campaign you’ve executed?
One campaign that stands out was during the “egg-flation” trend. We quickly developed the “Put an Egg on It” campaign, playing on the idea of eggs as premium gifts during Valentine’s Day. We rolled out the campaign within 24 hours across TikTok, YouTube, and on billboards. The timeliness and humor of the campaign led to massive engagement and visibility.
How do you balance speed and creativity when responding to cultural moments?
Speed is crucial, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of creativity and brand alignment. We set up streamlined processes to quickly brainstorm, create, and approve content. Our team remains flexible and ready to pivot when a significant cultural moment occurs, ensuring our response is both timely and high-quality.
What metrics do you use to measure the success of your timely campaigns?
We track engagement metrics such as likes, shares, comments, and follower growth. Additionally, we measure reach, impressions, and sentiment analysis to understand how our audience is reacting. For more direct impact, we also look at website traffic and conversions that can be attributed to the campaign.
What challenges do you face in creating culturally relevant content, and how do you overcome them?
The biggest challenge is ensuring authenticity and sensitivity while being timely. It’s essential to understand the cultural context fully and avoid missteps that could be seen as opportunistic. Regularly engaging with diverse perspectives within our team helps to create content that resonates positively across different segments of our audience.
Why are customer stories so powerful in marketing?
Customer stories provide real-life testimonials that humanize the brand. They build trust and authenticity, allowing potential customers to see themselves in those experiences. People relate to genuine stories about how products have impacted others’ lives, making these narratives incredibly persuasive.
How did you encourage customers to share their experiences with your brand?
We created campaigns that invited customers to share their stories, offering incentives like discounts or giveaways. We also highlighted and celebrated these stories on our social platforms, which motivated more customers to share their positive experiences with us.
Can you share an example of a customer story that significantly boosted your engagement?
One memorable campaign was “Family Table,” where we invited customers to share family recipes using our products. One customer’s heartfelt story about their family tradition around our product went viral. It not only boosted engagement but also deepened the emotional connection our audience had with our brand.
How do you ensure that these stories align with your brand narrative?
We carefully select and feature stories that reflect our values and mission. Whether it’s about health, sustainability, or community, we make sure that each story supports the broader message of our brand. This helps maintain a cohesive narrative across all our marketing efforts.
What impact have customer stories had on your brand’s social media presence?
Customer stories have greatly enhanced our authenticity and engagement. They foster a sense of community and trust, often leading to increased follower loyalty and higher engagement rates. These stories also encourage more user-generated content, amplifying our reach organically.
Why is educational content important for building brand authority?
Educational content positions your brand as a knowledgeable and trustworthy source in your industry. It goes beyond just promoting products—it demonstrates your expertise, helps your audience make informed decisions, and builds long-term loyalty and credibility.
What types of educational content have proven most valuable for your audience?
Our audience appreciates content that combines practical tips with deeper insights into the benefits of a plant-based lifestyle. Tutorials, behind-the-scenes looks at our sustainable practices, and informative posts about nutrition and environmental impact resonate particularly well.
How do you balance educational content with promotional posts on social media?
We maintain a balanced mix by planning our content calendar to include a healthy ratio of educational, promotional, and engagement posts. This ensures that our feed remains varied and interesting, providing value without overwhelming followers with sales pitches.
Can you share an example of how educational content increased your brand’s credibility?
We ran a series on the environmental benefits of plant-based diets, including detailed infographics and expert interviews. The series received high engagement and positive feedback, significantly boosting our credibility and positioning us as a thought leader in the sustainability space.
How do you position your brand as an industry thought leader?
We regularly share well-researched, high-quality content that addresses key topics and trends in the vegan and plant-based sectors. Collaborating with industry experts and participating in relevant conversations also helps to establish our authority.
What inspired you to create a social movement around your brand?
We noticed that our audience was passionate about more than just our products—they cared about the causes we supported. This inspired us to amplify our mission, addressing broader cultural and social issues and inviting our community to join us in making a difference.
How did you choose the causes or values to align with?
We looked for causes that naturally aligned with our brand’s mission and values. Our focus has always been on sustainability, health, and social justice. These are issues that resonate deeply with our audience and reflect the core principles of our brand.
Can you describe the steps you took to build this movement?
We started by clearly defining our mission and communicating it consistently across all platforms. We partnered with influencers and organizations that supported our causes and actively engaged our community by encouraging them to participate and share their own stories. We also regularly spotlighted our social and environmental initiatives.
What challenges did you face in creating a movement, and how did you address them?
One major challenge was ensuring that our efforts felt genuine and not just like a marketing tactic. Transparency and consistent action were key. We made sure to provide regular updates on our initiatives and demonstrated the impact of our community’s contributions, building trust and authenticity.
Do you have any advice for our readers?
Focus on authenticity and build genuine connections with your audience. Whether it’s through humor, education, or supporting social causes, make sure your content reflects your brand’s values and resonates with your community. Always listen and adapt, and remember that successful marketing is about creating value and making meaningful connections.
